I have been working at Dart Transit Trucking full-time (less than a year)

Pros

- Great orientation which can be 3-5 days- Orientation includes airfare but recruiter will push for you to drive or take a bus.- Orientation includes breakfast at the hotel- Orientation includes lunch in classroom- Orientation covered transportation to and from hotel- Hotel stays for everyone even locals- Hotel room is not shared and you could bring your family- Great 5 weeks of training after orientation- Trainers become your mentors- They offer recent CDL grads and local drivers the Atlanta Short Haul- Southeast Short Haul is for owner operators and NOT company drivers.- Big push for Highways Sales (Dart's leasing program) after six months.- Atlanta Short Haul you will be home nightly.- Home every weekend and major holidays- Drivers in Midwest and Texas are most happy- Eagan and Texas drivers (company drivers and o/o's) will say they see paychecks over $700

Dart has hired a new operations manager and the possibilities are wide open. We just need to see if he concedes to the current dispatchers or brings in new ideas and changes to better equip the Atlanta/Southeast which is a huge market.

Cons

Overview

For potential drivers considering Dart Transit most of this list is not an attack on Dart Transit only the Dart Transit's Buford location. It is very different from corporate Head Quarters in Eagan, Minnesota (HQ) and the Dart location in Texas. Drivers need the wheels turning and Buford's dispatch department is poorly managed, ill equipped, hostile, and the situation is aggravated by the leadership of a bad planner. If you are thinking Atlanta Short Haul, wait. Expected pay is $400- $450 weekly and below minimum wage. Due to Dart using zipcode to zipcode to calculate miles; poor dispatching which sends loads so late to the drivers that it upsets the shippers. Being a late driver also means the truck driver voids any possibility of receiving a detainment fee. This means you will sit idle no matter how long and get paid NOTHING. The shipper will also put your load at the bottom of the priority list and you just sit. The shippers will also remember the company that are perpetually late and continue ignoring you because they're upset with Dart. I will say always be nice to the shippers, warehouse and distribution people because of my kindness they tend to help me out regardless of their view of Dart.

New Drivers & Orientation

- NO opportunities for company drivers to be on Southeast Short Haul only for lease-to-own and the owner operators- Dart's Orientation will NOT pay $400 - $450 as said by recruiters, their website, and the ads. Dart pays only $7.25 per hour.- Dart's $7.25 per hour does NOT include any breaks & lunch and basically only pays when teacher is teaching.- Orientation pay for the full week will be around $200's.- First paycheck will NOT come for almost THREE weeks after you arrive at Dart.- First paycheck will only arrive via snail mail. *important to note if you do training over-the-road (OTR), you may not be home for 5-6 weeks.

Advancements- Dart is aware that many of the new drivers/trainees/rookies need that first paycheck to even eat. Dart will offer those drivers who must get the paycheck an "Advancement".- "Advancements" cost you the driver as mush as $35 per advancement of $50 to $100 of your paycheck. So to be clear if you want all of your first paycheck of $200+ Dart could charge you as much as $70.- Advancements will be done with an EFT check and can only be cash at select truck stops or the select locations or it will cost you more. Usually $6-$8 per check at truck stops.- Advancements for O\O's are done by your dispatcher. Most O/O are told no by their dispatchers but the dispatcher actually can advance you money but apparently they think it is funny to starve their team of drivers.- No Pets - zero tolerance for any pet- No passengers for a year and then there is a fee.- No guns - Dart says you can't carry a gun because it is a federal law FALSE. (search: "Truck Drivers’ Gun Rights By State")

DISPATCH- Dispatch is "strongly suggested" not forced. Strongly suggested means you say yes to every load and if you do not say yes they don't fire you, but will give you exceptionally bad loads. If you say no, more than once, they tell you to go home with no pay and must reimburse them for the diesel fuel.- When dispatch is upset you will be given a lot of idle time and/or bad loads. This usually doesn't stop and ex-drivers tell me it is the number one reason they left.- If you find yourself getting a lot of idle time, late dispatches and/or bad runs, than persistently contact dispatch thru PN emails. I then suggest calling HQ in St. Paul. Don't be afraid to call HQ and have screenshots of your communications with dispatch showing what is going on. Many drivers are to afraid to tell HQ and that is a big shame. I think that is the reason HQ has not looked into this more.- Dispatch has continuously made horrific mistakes, causing drivers to miss customers delivery times and HQ is apparently not investigating this either.- Drivers need to call HQ's the moment you see a problem.- Dispatchers out of Buford are known for being rude and even saying to drivers faces that you mean nothing to them. So do not bring your family into the Buford office by the dispatchers. Mostly they just ignore you.- When dealing with HQ make sure you keep track of your People Net. Screenshot messages as they misconstrue the facts to HQ and your customers. This will at least help you in the future if you are questioned.- When dispatch will tell you to point blank lie to customers regardless to anyone including HQ and other truckers. Do not do it. If a dispatcher wants to you to lie, tell them it makes you feel uncomfortable. Drop the conversation with your dispatcher. Once you are with the person whom dispatch wished you'd lie too, give them the number to your dispatcher. If the dispatcher lies to them call HQ and report it.- If dispatch calls you on your personal cell use a Record a Call app, it's legal in GA.- HQ is NOT doing enough to investigate the complaints coming from customers nor their O/O, & company drivers about the Buford location.- Dispatchers and the planner have lost the dedicated International Paper (IP) account. Approximately 100 loads per day for the Atlanta Short Haul drivers was lost. IP said it was gross planning by Buford. As a driver I wondered how they kept us for so long and I miss the sweet loads. - This is something that was 100% fixable and preventable and not one person from dispatch was fired.

Pay

- $400 weekly- You will not see weekly paychecks over $600- Not one driver on the Atlanta Short Haul is making over $450- OTR company drivers dispatched out of Buford make $600-$900- Fine print the REAL base pay is .28 cpm- Dart (company wide) is zipcode to zipcode. (search: "Air Miles", "Map Miles", "Zip Code Miles" for truckers ) as this is a great loss to the drivers.- Keep all receipts even if you electronically sent them and a copy for your records or Dart may not pay. If they initially paid, they still hold the right to take it back from a future check if the receipt disapears.

Per Diem (search: "Per Diem for truck drivers")

- Dart says they pay .34 cpm, but really only pay .28 cpm as they add .06 cents for per diem. This is BAD- Truckers get Per Diem of at least $60 a day via IRS. That means drivers can write off a $60 everyday they work. Over the Road drivers can get more for hotels but it will also include the normal per diem costs of meals, equipment, cloths, even entertainment.- Dart takes truck drivers right to per diem by paying anything. So the .06 cpm extra is all we get. If you're a driver in Atlanta with the average amount of miles I have been running that will average out to $9 a day. Dart will write off $60 everyday I work and I cannot write off anything. $9 doesn't cover my meals in most cases.

- - - - BIGGEST TAKEAWAY after low paychecks-----Dart does not send first paycheck for weeks. If you need your money sooner Dart offers advancements which cost as much as $35 for each EFT check of $50 - $100 they send you. First paycheck is only for orientation and it will be around $200+ for the week of orientation, NOT $400-$450. Dart training is paid out at $7.25 on duty hours until training is done (5 weeks). Dart says they pay .34 cpm in the paperwork/website/ads but it is really .28 cpm. Dart then adds per diem of .06 cents for every mile. Which basically means Dart is paying you an average of $9.00 a day if you do the Atlanta Short Haul. Dart then goes to the IRS and ask for $60.00 a day for everyday the truck drivers hauls freight. Drivers at Dart then cannot ask IRS for expenses or write off for the equipment they buy. Dispatch is a mess and if they tell you to lie to anyone, be nice to dispatch tell them that would make you feel uncomfortable. Don't go father with it just call HQ in St. Paul and let them know.

Drivers are required to buy much of their needed equipment such as fuses, lights, rubber gaskets for glad hands, APU units, brooms, installation of any refrigerators, microwaves, TV's and anything to make the job easier.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

- Listen to the complaints,- Buford's company drivers are close to 100% turnover.- Don't focus on the costs of training but ways to build the team more effectively, especially in the southeast.- Create leadership thru accountability and performance with management and dispatch.- Management please do more surprise visits and check out what dispatch is doing.- Go on the road with some of your drivers, you will find you have some of the best.- Drivers come to the Atlanta Short Haul because they value family, work and our very loyal and want more miles.- Check the paychecks - drivers giving you 60-70 hours a week can't handle weekly paychecks of $400-$600 they have families that have needs.- the online store failed, due to employees not wanting to promote Dart. Focus on ways to get employees proud of being at Dart.- Offer discounts to merchandize to better the on the road experience for your drivers.- Offer discounts on truck equipment.- Dart's Truck Driver Appreciation in Buford did not tell truck drivers to stop in, didn't hand out Dart merchandize, no awards or accolades given. Only dispatch was given a free lunch and that was in poor taste.- Offer the Per Diem option, so seasoned drivers can get the cpm & reap the tax benefits. While newer drivers can choose the option to have the higher cpm and may not want the per diem.- Clean out Buford's dispatch and planning department. Hire motivated team professionals with high ethics, that will aid the drivers into greater road miles, add transparency and open door policy. This will achieve results the customers and drivers were expecting when they choose Dart.- Hire truck drivers to handle Buford dispatch. They will have a better personalities and get the trucks moving.- Investigate better technical equipment such as what dispatch is using and how it can be improved. Look at customizing the PN equipment, the unneeded repetitiveness of the People Net waste time & money.

The company is family-owned and has that feel to it. The people working there are generally very nice and fun to be around. The HR department tries hard to motivate staff but it is difficult with little funds.

Cons

There is little room for advancement. Employees there 10+ years are not valued. They would rather hire someone new at a lower wage than promote or advance from within. It is all about the bottom line.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Spend less time worrying about how much $ you are making for yourself and more time developing talent.

Good peopleIf you find the right folks you can problem solve effectivelyCulture of taking care of our contractors.

Cons

Mediocre to poor mid level leadership (it was commonplace for me to be "counseled" by my manager by email with my entire group copied in)Compensation is low. They have this goofy "compensation chart" that they show every employee during their annual review to show them their "true" compensation (vacation days, benefits, etc...) That's great, but everyone gives out benefits, show me the money honey.Need to work on reducing the influence of some of the "crusties" who seem to think that they are entitled to anything because they have been there so long. Some of these guys/gals do not know what they are doing, and are often counterproductive.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Need to focus on training and developing your leaders. Dart has mid-level leaders that are all over the map in their management style, with some that are totally incompetent.

For a truck line the management outlook is fairly progressive. They've got some good products and they generally care for each other. Very family oriented company. Most truck lines you will see a lot of tension in operations and a push to run trucks beyond HOS. Here the safety department is well in control and they try to keep the tension low in ops. Working in ops during the weekend will get overtime pay.

Cons

Pay is very low overall, they can have trouble developing their managers. Family run businesses sometimes put family members in places of responsibility when they really shouldn't, and here is no different.

Benefits, the benefits are awesome. But the benefits, no matter how Dart figures them, will NEVER compensate you for the low wages. The company is family owned and ran and therefore had more of a "family" attitude. Dart is a small to mid size company with positions throughout the US with personnel who work directly from their home.

Cons

Pay, the pay is not up to par....1-3 % annual salary increases regardless of how well you help develop or strengthen the company. Extra work load....expected, please don't expect any kind of kudo. Dart is known for meeting out punishment.....are you considered a team player?? If not beware you may be escorted fron the premises.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Listen to your staff.....choose your management carefully and then put procedures in place to make sure that the are doing the job. Implementing a management review would help a lot.

95% drop and hook,always seem to have good freight. They did try their hardest to get you home when you requested it. If a consignee held you up too long dispatch did what they could to get you movin again, always payed detention. I would put my truck back on with them.

Cons

Some of the snot nosed brats in dispatch have never sat in a truck let alone try to make a living in one, then they try to tell you how to run your truck, but thats only a few and they may be gone by now. When in a lease purchase they give you just enough miles to pay your bills with them but you gotta run way hard to pay your bills at home. Wouldnt recamend a lease/purchase with anyone.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Focus on getting retired drivers in dispatch that know something and have a personality. Oh and how about a bigger lot in Eagan to park or move your trailer shop so there is room to park inservice trls. it gets a bit cramped in there to say the least.

We were given the freedom to do our jobs. We were a results driven company. We had great customer contact, which helped provide us loads when we needed them.

Cons

Sometimes the hours got a little long if we had to finish a project or bid that was on a time deadline. Other than that this family owned company was great to work for. It's people were it largest asset.